Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deej… Read Full Bio ↴Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.

He was born at Kingston's Victoria Jubilee Hospital, and was one of six children. Originally from Waterhouse, Kingston, he was raised in the Waterford district in the community Portmore, Jamaica. Adidja attended Calabar High School in Kingston but was expelled as a teenager. Determined to continue his education, he completed his studies at a tutorial technical school.

He was exposed to a wide variety of music from a tender age by two uncles who were themselves aspiring musicians. Every weekend he was treated to new musical offerings, on his uncle's old component set, ranging from Sam Cooke to country and western ballads to Ninja Man, who became one of his musical heroes.

At 10 his favorites included artists as diverse as Ninja Man, Papa San, Charlie Chaplin, Will Smith and KRS-1, all of whose lyrics he would study word-for-word, performing them later for friends.

He decided he wanted to be a deejay and began writing his own lyrics when he was 11. Eager to flaunt his skills, Adidja and his friends frequented the weekly Gong Talent Show at the Coney Amusement Park on the outskirts of Kingston. To their chagrin, they were always gonged off when they got a chance to perform.

Undeterred by his weekly failure to impress the talent show audience, Adidja decided to hone his skills and concentrate on winning over his own community of Waterford until he was ready for bigger things. With that goal in mind, on weekends he would practise on neighborhood sound systems Soul Signal and Electric Force.

In 1993, Adidja recorded his first single, "Love Fat Woman," for Alvin Reid's One Heart Label under the name Adi Banton, a name he chose in tribute to a role model, Buju Banton. He recorded several more tracks for local producers, perfecting his craft.

In 1996 he and two friends, Mr. Lee and a singer called Escobar, decided to form a group. One night, after watching a movie about Pablo Escobar and his infamous cartel, Adidja came up with a name for his trio: Vibes Cartel.

Vybz Kartel's new role as Killer's protege caught the attention of the public and led to a meteoric career rise, first as a ghost-writer for Bounty, Elephant Man and other members of the Scare Dem Crew, followed by collaborations with Bounty Killer, such as "Gal Clown" and "Girls Like Mine (Liquid Riddim)."

He came into his own with early hits like "Gun Clown," "Guns Like Mine (Trafalga Riddim)," "Badman (Panty Raid Riddim)," "Bus Mi Gun Like Nuttn," "Most High (Mexican Riddim)" and "War Organizer (Clappas Riddim)." He also had a string of successful collaborations with Wayne Marshall, including "New Millennium (Mad Antz Riddim)," "Why (Krazy Riddim)" and "Why Again (Good To Go Riddim)." This unprecedented debut led to Vybz Kartel being crowned 2002 Deejay of the Year at Stone Love's 30th anniversary, a feat unmatched by any new artist in dancehall.

Kartel has--aside from incredible rhymes and subtle, clever pop culture references--a unique lyrical flow all his own. It is to be noted that Kartel rarely does dance "chunes" along the lines of Elephant man or Beenie Man. Nevertheless, he has already had several high-profile collaborations with international hip-hop and pop stars, and is being touted as the next big thing in dancehall.

In terms of singles sold, he has had the second-best year on the 2003 reggae charts, outsold only by Elephant Man, and has released two albums this year for UK label Greensleeves. He was featured twice on the Def Jamaica project, and nominated for Source, VIBE and UK MOBO awards. His MOBO nominations, along with those of Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Sizzla, were subsequently withdrawn over concerns of homophobia, a common issue with dancehall reggae in general.

His video for "New Millennium/Why," with Wayne Marshall, though decidedly low-budget, has seen play on MTV. His underground following is so large that a bootleg version of, in his own words, "a very, very low budget film" made in 2001 has begun circulating. He has two albums, several mixtapes and a prolific library of singles.

In 2005, Vybz and Bountkiller fell out after Vybz preformed a song with Di Angel, Beenie's former girl, "Yuh Know Yuh Baby Father." Vybz walked out of the Alliance. Aidonia also left, because he took Vybz side, falling out with Busy Signal and making the song "Adid A Mi Daddy Who Wa Vex Wan Vex." It was said Vybz took side with Beenie by showing up at his wedding. Vybz said Beenie was his artist and would not and that's as far as it went. Afterwards, he and Movado which led to throwing of words through songs like "Movado di Failla," "Them Start War and Dead" and "Them a Pu@#* Pon di Battle." But this mis happas only made Mr.Palmer express his war side.

Vybz is the head of the territorial gangland in Portmore known as the Gaza and Mavado is the same for the Gully. Due to their feud a physical war arose between people in the two areas. Fans loyal to each artist have taken part as well. Their fan base in the youths has been seen, as entire schools claiming to be Gully or Gaza supporters have been known not just in Jamaica but in other Caribbean countries such as Trinidad to break out into physical war resulting in stabbings and street fights.

Following the 2009 Summit of the Americas the Jamaican government called a meetings between Vybz Kartel and Mavado calling on them to end the war. Since its conclusion both artists have turned away from war songs and focused on different topics, Kartel on women and Mavado on uplifting the people, although both still make songs of all types.

Following differences with record label Greensleeves, Vybz Kartel changed his name to Addi Di Teacha near the end of 2006. All new material he produces will be released under this name. Greensleeves will continue to release his older, unreleased material under the name Vybz Kartel.

He now owns the label Portmore Empire, founded in 2007, on which releases new deejays' music. To clear up why this was done he had an interview with Antony Miller. "If I had join Moffia House, I would be taking side which I said I would not do," he said.

He owns a rum called STREET VYBZ as well as a condom line called DAGGERING.

Recently, he collaborated with artists like D.I. aka Daniel and Di Angel--Beenie man's former wife. But that's another story...

In 2011 Kartel has recently come under fire for bleaching his skin, something that is frowned upon in Jamaican culture and even Kartel spoken against it in past songs. He has come under even more fire for his rumored involvement in devil worship with a satanic group known as the Illuminati, which is known to have other popular musicains such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna.

My Crew
Vybz Kartel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yo, everybody drunk and happy raise your bottles and glasses
Henessy I know it and rum, street vybz couple quacked couple flasks
No work all pay we a party and bun out di grasses
Mi can say do dis 'cause mi not inna d office
Tun it up tun it up tun it up tun it up tun it up

We tun it up loud loud Inna di club (hey)
Everybody at (hey) champagne bar (hey) fi di street vybz

Pretty girl (hey) coming from every side (hey)
Don't leave your girl careless little boy
We take her go straight to the bed
We have di real brand pin fi she bed
If you lose ya girl to vybz kartel
It nah nothing we all real that no Tom no Jerry

My crew, everybody know, tun it up inna di club what you a go do?
When you see my crew, mi seh everybody know
Street vybz and champagne, what you a go do?
My crew my dogs, you a so we heart,
My crew my dogs, you a so we heart
My crew my dogs, mi send it to di max (ouh)
Mi family, children, mi party mi party, mi brethren, my crew

Mi happy eh, everybody happy ey
High grade a get coming up inna mi head
Everybody live, leave nobody nah dead
Wen di club done we a go start it all over again
Inna Kingston street vybz a they a tackle
Inna di Big Apple Dre Skull a pop a bottle
Di club a my church, di Devil tabernacle (life)
But inna our life we di kings we no take topple

My crew, everybody know, tun it up inna di club what you a go do?
When you see my crew, mi seh everybody know
Street vybz and champagne, what you a go do?
My crew my dogs, you a so we heart,
My crew my dogs, you a so we heart
My crew my dogs, mi send it to di max (oh)
Mi family, children, mi party mi party, mi brethren, my crew

Everybody drunk and happy raise all your bottles and glasses
Hennessy I know it and rum street vybz couple quacked couple flasks
No work all play, we a party and bun out di grasses
Mi can say do dis 'cause mi not inna d office
Tun it up, tun it up, tun it up, tun it up, tun it up we tun it up

My crew, everybody know, tun it up inna di club what you a go do?
When you see my crew, mi seh everybody know
Street vybz and champagne, what you a go do?
My crew my dogs, you a so we heart,
My crew my dogs, you a so we heart
My crew my dogs, mi send it to di max (oh)
Mi family, children, mi party mi party, mi brethren, my crew!

My crew, we running it, running it, we run it
My crew, we running it run it, we running it
My crew, we run it, we run it, we running it,
My crew a what, you gonna do?

My crew, we running it, running it, we run it
My crew, we running it run it, we running it

My crew, we run it, we run it, we running it,
Mi party, mi children, mi brother, mi family, my crew

Overall Meaning

The song "My Crew" by Vybz Kartel is a celebration of friendship and camaraderie. In the song, the artist talks about partying with his crew, drinking Hennessy and rum, and having a good time. The lyrics encourage everyone to raise their bottles and glasses and tun it up. The song emphasizes the importance of friendship and loyalty and how they contribute to making us happy.

The song talks about the street vibes, and how it brings everyone together. It is about the joy of being with your friends, having fun, and enjoying life. The song's chorus repeats several times throughout the song, emphasizing the importance of Kartel's crew and the happiness they bring.

One of the most interesting aspects of the song is its focus on Hennessy and rum: both alcoholic drinks that are popular in Jamaica. The song also portrays the club as a space where people can come together, have fun and be themselves. Kartel refers to the club as his 'church,' where he goes to worship and feel free. The song conveys the importance of friendship as a source of joy and support.

Line by Line Meaning

Yo, everybody drunk and happy raise your bottles and glasses
Everyone is in a celebratory mood, so let's drink and make a toast.

Henessy I know it and rum, street vybz couple quacked couple flasks
The preferred alcohol of the night is a mix of Hennessy and rum, and everyone is carrying their flasks around for convenience.

No work all pay we a party and bun out di grasses
We're not thinking about work tonight, just enjoying ourselves and having fun while forgetting about our daily lives.

Mi can say do dis 'cause mi not inna d office
I can say and do what I want because I don't have any obligations, such as being at work right now.

Tun it up tun it up tun it up tun it up tun it up
Let's turn up the music and keep the energy high throughout the night.

We tun it up loud loud Inna di club (hey)
We're turning up the music loudly in the club, where everyone is dancing and having a good time.

Everybody at (hey) champagne bar (hey) fi di street vybz
Everyone is at the champagne bar, celebrating the street vibes and enjoying the night.

Pretty girl (hey) coming from every side (hey)
Attractive women surround us from all angles, adding to the positive energy and excitement of the night.

Don't leave your girl careless little boy
Don't let your girlfriend wander off and be careless, as someone might swoop in and take her.

We take her go straight to the bed
If someone does happen to lose their girl, we'll make sure to lead her straight to a bed for a fun night.

We have di real brand pin fi she bed
We have the best type of bed, designed for pleasure and comfort during our intimate encounters.

If you lose ya girl to vybz kartel
If you lose your girl to Vybz Kartel, it's because he knows how to party and celebrate life better than anyone else.

It nah nothing we all real that no Tom no Jerry
It's no big deal to lose your girl to us, as we're all genuine people who enjoy the same things without any lies or tricks involved.

Mi happy eh, everybody happy ey
I'm happy and everyone else seems happy too, making this a great night for all of us.

High grade a get coming up inna mi head
The marijuana is finally kicking in and I'm beginning to feel its effects in my head.

Everybody live, leave nobody nah dead
We're all living in the moment and no one is worrying about anything negative, keeping the positive vibes going strong throughout the night.

Wen di club done we a go start it all over again
When the club closes, we'll simply move on to the next location to keep the party going.

Inna Kingston street vybz a they a tackle
Kingston streets are where we thrive and have the most fun, celebrating life as it should be celebrated.

Inna di Big Apple Dre Skull a pop a bottle
Even in New York City, Dre Skull is partying with us and popping champagne bottles to keep the energy high.

Di club a my church, di Devil tabernacle (life)
The club is where I feel most alive and free, like a church, but at the same time, it's also like a place for temptation and sin in a devilish way.

But inna our life we di kings we no take topple
Despite any challenges we may face in life, we are still the kings and won't let anything topple us.

My crew, everybody know, tun it up inna di club what you a go do?
My crew is well-known for turning up the music and keeping the party going, so what are you going to do about it?

Street vybz and champagne, what you a go do?
We're celebrating life on the streets with champagne, so don't be a buzzkill and join in on the fun.

My crew my dogs, you a so we heart,
My crew is made up of my closest friends and we all share the same passion for having fun and celebrating life.

Mi send it to di max (ouh)
I'm taking this party and celebration to the max, with no holding back.

Mi family, children, mi party mi party, mi brethren, my crew
My family, children, and crew are all a part of this celebration and party, making it a true testament to the happiness and love in our lives.

My crew, we running it, running it, we run it
We're running this party and celebration like true professionals, leaving no room for anyone else to take control.

Mi party, mi children, mi brother, mi family, my crew
Everyone I love and care for is a part of this celebration, making it an unforgettable experience for all of us.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Andrew Hershey, Adidja Palmer

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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